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Auburn Wedding Venue
Carl House weddings
A white columned 1903 house on four acres between Lawrenceville and Winder, once home to a family that ran a plant nursery. Its old Southern garden plan was restored with a gazebo for ceremonies. In house food, flowers and wedding direction come with the rental, and proposals are custom.
Ceremony And Reception Spaces
| Space | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremony Gardens and Gazebo | Ask the venue | A restored Southern garden with a gazebo for the vows. |
| Grand Ballroom | Seated dinner for 135, buffet for 280 | A mezzanine, a suspended staircase, a fireplace and covered porches. |
How It Photographs
A gazebo in a formal garden, white columns and a curved staircase inside a tall windowed ballroom.
Venue Details
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Rain Plan | The ballroom is the indoor ceremony backup. |
| Catering | In House Only |
| Phone | (770) 586-0095 |
| Website | The venue site |
| Address | 1176 Atlanta Highway, Auburn, GA 30011 |
Facts from carlhouse.com, carlhouse.com, read November 2026.
What The Venue Publishes
- Private use of the four acre estate for four to four and a half hours
- Tables, mahogany Chiavari chairs, china, flatware, stemware and linens
- In house decor
- An event manager
- Cake plating and service
- Built in 1903 for the Durham family, and opened as an event venue in 2003.
How I Would Photograph A Wedding Here
An old house gives you porches, doorways and staircases that already look like a story. I find where the afternoon light comes through the windows for the getting ready photographs, then move outside to the lawn or the garden for portraits.
This venue publishes outdoor space, so I would plan around the sun. A ceremony in full midday sun means squinting guests and hard shadows, so look up the sunset for your month first and work back from it. Even if dinner is inside, twenty quiet minutes outside before sunset make the photographs couples frame.
Big windows are the best light indoors. I would put the two of you near them for the getting ready photographs and for a few portraits if the weather turns, and keep the room lights low so the color stays clean.
Ask where you will get ready. A bright room with a big window makes the dress, the details and those first quiet minutes look their best, and if it is close to the ceremony spot it saves time on a hot day.
Questions To Ask Carl House
- What is the food and beverage minimum for our date, and what does the package include?
- Is there a suite for getting ready, and does it have a big window?
- Where is the shade at the time of our ceremony, and can the chairs face away from the sun?
- What time does outdoor music have to stop, and is the space private to us all day?
- Which areas of the grounds can we use for portraits, and when is the last call for the rain plan?
Send me the answers and your date, and I will plan the photographs and the film around them. Check your date.

Plan The Day
A Wedding Day At Carl House
Carl House lists outdoor space, so the ceremony time is the one decision that changes every photograph. I like a ceremony that ends a little more than an hour before sunset. The light is softer, guests are not squinting into the sun, and we walk straight from the recessional into portraits while the sky warms up. Carl House publishes a rain plan, which is rare and worth reading before you sign.
The times below are worked out from the sunset in Atlanta on the 15th of each month, with daylight saving included. Move everything earlier in winter and later in June.
| Month | Ceremony | Portraits Begin | Sunset | Blue Hour Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 6:45 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM |
| October | 5:20 PM | 6:05 PM | 7:05 PM | 7:35 PM |
Getting ready photos usually start about two hours before the ceremony, so book hair and makeup to finish thirty minutes before I arrive.

Compare
How Carl House Compares
At up to 280 guests, Carl House sits in the middle of the 17 venues here that publish a capacity. Like most venues here, it does not put a full price online. 7 of the 26 venues in this guide do. Other historic house venues in this guide are Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Rhodes Hall, Primrose Cottage.
Questions About Carl House
How many guests fit at Carl House?
Carl House publishes up to 280 guests. Ask the venue which space fits your plan.
What is the rain plan at Carl House?
The ballroom is the indoor ceremony backup.
Will you photograph our wedding at Carl House?
Yes. I photograph and film weddings all over Atlanta. Check your date and tell me about your plans.
Found Your Venue
Tell me where in Atlanta you are getting married and I will tell you how I would photograph it.